Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2006. / Title from title screen (site viewed on Oct. 6, 2006). PDF text: 81 p. : ill. ; 4.36Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3213325. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm, microfiche and paper format.

Thesis (M.Psych.Org.) - University of Queensland, 2007. / Cover title. Includes bibliography.

M.Phil. / People are living in a stressful world, which is characterised by materialism, narrow self-centeredness, lack of meaning and dearth commitment (1.1). This results in people loosing touch of their spiritual core. They are searching for meaning and purpose in their lives, both at home and at work. Furthermore, companies seem not to take into account that people are more than just mind and body, with unique and special gifts. Companies treat people as numbers and not as people (1.2). The purpose of this study was to create an understanding of the concept spirituality and secondly to understand how employees experience spiritual fulfilment in the workplace and if the employer addresses their spiritual needs (as per 1.3). The study consequently aimed to describe the key elements of the concept spirituality in the workplace (as per Chapter 2), in an attempt to identify and disclose the current experience of spiritual fulfilment in the workplace (described in Chapter 3) — which might aid us in increasing employee productivity. The research has been done from a Personal and Professional Leadership perspective (1.6). This perspective is based on the assumption that human beings have an ongoing commitment and accompaniment to growth and dev'elopment, through self-knowledge and self-awareness, finding a purpose, realising one's full potential and co-operation with and adding value to other people's lives. In endeavoring to address the study's problem, the researcher subsequently decided to make use of a hermeneutic phenomenological research strategy, and to conduct an extensive literature review, word and concept analysis as well as focus group and individual interviews in order to meet the research objectives. The result of the literature study has consequently been described in Chapter 2 in an attempt to: meet the research objective (1.4) of what can be seen as the spiritual needs of workers, as well as to establish the link between the productivity of the workers and their spiritual fulfilment.

Introduction Work-Life Balance is an area of interest to both researchers and organizations who strive to understand the various facets of work, life and work-life. For an individual and society today, balance is of paramount interest affected by the personality aspects, family aspects, support scenario, organizational culture and the existence of policies and their usage at the organizational level. The changing aspirations of individuals with time, across economies have made this a global issue . In India, the rapid urbanization in major cities and the manner in which individuals are embracing a 24*7 work environment, makes it crucial to understand Work-Life balance in a holistic and contextual manner. The efforts of the government and the organization along with the individual drive determines how the scales tilt in this strive for Work-Life balance. Literature Review The gamut of literature shows that Work-Life balance has been studied across countries and industries. Work-Life balance as an issue has been explored from both an organizational and individual perspective. The impact of demographic aspects like gender, age, education, marital status, family type, children and care taking responsibility have been delineated, along with personality aspects like leadership and motivation. Support has been delved into, both at family level and at organizational level; coupled with the impact of mentoring and networking. Researchers have worked towards understanding policies at the organizational level that help an individual attain Work-Life balance, along with individual philosophy and family culture. Work-Life balance attained by an individual is exhibited in their behavior towards their team and organization; the loyalty and commitment exhibited by them. It is evident in the satisfaction they experience and their positive attitude towards work. The positive impact on their families is also evident, in terms of the time they are able to spend with their family. While the literature looks at various aspects, the view is an isolated one and there is a need for a holistic and multi-construct understanding of Work-Life Balance. Research Objectives and Methodology The ensuing gaps from literature lead to the objectives of the study. The specific objectives of the study are: 1 To evolve and validate a multi-construct model of Work-Life Balance (WLB) in the Indian Context 2 To identify and relate organizational, individual and family factors affecting WLB. 3 To critically analyze the role of gender, organizational policies, self efficacy and organization type in understanding work-life issues 4. To suggest ways and means of mitigating WLB in the Indian context. The various variables in the study were identified and the information framework was put in place. The preliminary study and the pilot study helped to finalise the questionnaire for the main study. The questionnaire comprised of two sections: Part B: My Perceptions of My Home and Work. Random sampling, coupled with the snowballing technique was the sampling technique adopted. The questionnaires were mostly administered in a face to face format; and in some cases, it was done over email as the respondents found that more convenient. The total sample of the study was 426 respondents 248 from public organizations, 118 from private organizations and 60 from entrepreneurial organizations. The data thus collected was subjected to statistical analyses. Major Findings First part of the analysis was carried out to establish the validity and the reliability of the questionnaire. This was done through factor analysis and by calculating the Cronbach's alpha. The factors analysis shows that the explanatory factors that emerge significant are aspects of culture, leadership and support; along with motivation towards family and work; including aspects of mentoring and networking. The mediating factors that emerge important revolve around aspects of Work-Life issues and impact of conflict; awareness and benefit of organizational policies; the perception of policy usage and individual thought. The output factors that emerge with high scores are the team and organizational engagement, impact of organizational support on work and family; the perception of work, the satisfaction with job and career and the citizenship behaviour exhibited. To understand how different the groups, categorised by age, education, children, marital status, gender, family type, care taking responsibility and the organization type public, private and entrepreneurial, are on the factors; manova and t test was carried out. The groups emerge significantly different in terms of their understanding of organizational culture and involvement in networking. The way they view organizational support and the role of mentoring, how they view family support and responsibilities at home. How confident individuals feel about handling challenges and how satisfied they felt with their jobs and career, also differ between the groups. The next step in analysis involved understanding the experience of Work-Life balance and the individual impact of the explanatory, mediating and interaction factors on the various output factors of team and organizational engagement, the positive impact of policies on family, the perception of work, the job and career satisfaction experienced and the citizenship proactive behavior exhibited by the individual. Apriori models based on literature were developed and regression analysis was carried out. Many of the models emerged insignificant showing that Work as a phenomena cannot be understood through isolated factors. For this, a full model was developed with explanatory, mediating and interaction factors (explanatory*mediating) and their causal impact on the output factors was studied. It was seen that the model for team and organizational engagement emerged the strongest with the factors explaining 69% of the model. The results of the full model showed that different factors had major impacts on different output aspects. It was seen that organizational culture, self efficacy and family values and the motivation towards work, interacting with the existence and awareness of policies have the greatest impact on team and organizational engagement. The support seniors/boss, perceived stress and networking interacting with the usage effect of organizational policies have the greatest impact on organizational policy positive impact on family. Organizational culture, perceived stress and networking interacting with the existence and awareness of organizational factors have the greatest impact on work perception. Job and career satisfaction is impacted the most by the motivation towards work, organizational policy existence, awareness and benefit and organization focus leadership interacting with the usage effect of policies. Finally, it is seen that networking, perceived stress and support from seniors and boss interacting with perceived stress have the greatest impact on citizenship proactive behavior. We thus see that Work Life balance is a multi-dimensional phenomena and its' comprehensive understanding is attained through multiple constructs. Conclusion This study provides a holistic understanding of Work Life Balance and is understood by looking at aspects of organizational culture, leadership, motivation, networking, mentoring, and support factors at both the organizational and the family level. The mediating role of organizational policies their existence, awareness and benefit and the usage effects on an individual; along with the role of self efficacy and family values and individuals' perception of stress becomes important. The experience of Work Life balance is understood through various behaviors exhibited team and organizational engagement shown by the individual, the positive impact of policies on family, the perception of work, the job and career satisfaction experienced and the citizenship proactive behavior exhibited by the individual. The comparison across groups and organization types public, private and entrepreneurial, show the importance of individual thought in mitigating Work Life issues. This study makes contributions at the theoretical level by developing and validating a multi-construct model for WLB. The study highlights the importance of organizational culture, organizational policies and the role of mentoring and networking that the organizations and managers need to delve into. This study entails scope in terms of extension of the model across organizations and cities in India and the development of a WLB measurement scale.

This paper examines young adults’ perceptions of work, life, and the balance in between in light of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The intention of this study is to provide a deeper understanding of young adults’ world views for the benefit of organizations. 22 undergraduate students between the ages of 18 to 40 from five different colleges at a Midwestern university participated in a focus group or one-on-one interviews. The age-frame was selected to include young adults in a life stage imperative to their career development. Central themes found in regard to technology use, work, and work/life balance included: viewing technology as access, a divide in preference of integrations vs. separation, viewing technology as expectation, viewing technology as leisure, and parental impact on present-day habits. Participant recommendations for better work/life balance are discussed. Finally, the implications of these findings for organizations are explored.

The objective of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Burnout Inventor for employees in a selected organization in South Africa. A purposive, non-probability sample was used (N = 365). The Burnout Inventory and a biographical questionnaire were administered. Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations confirmed the construct equivalence of the questionnaire. Two internally consistent factors, namely, Organisation and Work-context were extracted. AFRIKAANS : Die doelstelling van hierdie studie was om die psigometriese eienskappe van die Burnout Inventory vir werknemers in n geselekteerde organisasie in Suid- Afrika te bepaal. ‘n Doelgerigte nie-waarskynlikheidsteekproef is gebruik (N = 365). Die Burnout Inventory en biografiese vraelys is afgeneem. Verkennende Faktoranalise met teikenrotasies het die konstrukekwivalensie van die vraelys bevestig. Twee interne konsekwente faktore, organisasie en werkskonteks is onttrek. Copyright 2007, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Karodia, TR 2007, Psychometric properties of the burnout inventory, MCom dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-02222012-110515 / > C12/4/198/gm / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

This project aims to build a system that helps users achieve a delicate work-life balance and decrease stress. Evidence shows that most dual-earner families currently live in multitasking contexts. The increase of multitasking behaviors and experiences among working mothers has led to negative emotions, stress, and work-family conflict. Studies have confirmed that balancing work and family is challenging for parents. After the COVID-19 pandemic, work-life balance became more challenging to achieve. Due to gender inequality, research shows that telecommuting mothers report feelings of depression and anxiety much more than fathers. The study highlights work-life conflict experiences with working mothers through qualitative and quantitative approaches involving specific numbers of interviews and online surveys. Based on research, I developed the system Leto, an application and product design to help mothers in dual-earner families build a better inner and outer system. Further, the design combines functions of the mother community, reminders, customized schedules, and a stress reliever. The design outcome was prototyped and assessed through a heuristic evaluation.

There is currently a phenomenon of young people changing jobs in our country. This research looks at the reasons why mechanics leave the workshop environment to pursue a career as a technical advisor in the call centre. The technical advisors all make the transition at a particular stage in their lives and this will be looked at in terms of Super’s (1980) developmental theory, with a particular focus on the stage of establishment. The dissertation takes the reader on a journey through the lives of five technical advisors at a particular organisation, and compares and contrasts the two work environments and the quality of work life associated with both. The study will also focus on stress that they experience while making the transition from mechanic to technical advisor and how this impacts on their work and personal lives. The study was exploratory in nature and was investigated through the qualitative method of interviewing.

Due to changes in workforce structure, household structure and the nature of jobs, today's working adults face the challenge of balancing their work and life. However, employees do not only passively react to the incompatible demands from work and life - they are active agents who make decisions about their own total life. For example, individuals make decisions about the amount of energy that they spend on work/life (WL) activities. Thus, I write three essays to understand the antecedents and consequences of employees' personal resource allocation decisions. In the first essay, I study the decision itself. That is, I identify and examine four profiles of employees' WL behavioral involvement. The studied behaviors include job behavioral involvement, organizational citizenship behavior, and life involvement. In Essay 2, I examine the antecedent of the behavioral involvement decisions – WL value, which is expressed as centrality, importance, and priority. Although an individual's behavior is argued to be directed by value, it cannot be fully understood without considering the context. Thus, I examine the influences of three external factors, including financial pressure, job demands, and perceived organizational supportive culture, on the value-behavioral involvement relationship. In Essay 3, I focus on the consequences of individuals being involved in different combinations of WL behaviors. Based on the conservation of resource (COR) theory, I argue that individuals who allocate a great amount of resources to life are more likely to utilize WL benefits offered by the organization. Furthermore, understanding work-life balance (WLB) as a psychological construct, I argue that when an individual's behavioral involvement is consistent with their WL value, he or she is more likely to experience satisfaction with regards to his or her WLB.

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